Thursday, May 10, 2007

Media freedom debated in Afghan parliament

The Afghan parliament is currently debating media law amendments that have many journalists concerned about government control over an independent press, according to a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty article on Wednesday.

“The media commission, which monitors complaints, has been a great support for journalists in the past. Unfortunately the new law abolishes this commission. Also, the Afghan Radio and Television [broadcaster] was a public service company. Now, National Radio and Television will work under the auspices of the Ministry of Information and Culture,” said Said Agha Fazil Sanjaraki, the head of Afghanistan’s National Journalists’ Union.

Accusations of government media control have been publicly denied by Afghanistan’s Information and Culture Ministry. A media advisor to the Ministry stated, “What the Afghan government wants or doesn’t want is one thing, and what the Afghan government can and cannot do is another. According to our media law, the government has no such right [to control the media]. So, even if there were someone in the Afghan government who wanted to take control of the media, they would not legally be able to do so.”

Nonetheless, journalists remain concerned about the implications of such changes.